My Girl's Ex Boyfriend
by knick-knack-15
Summary: When Troy comes face to face with Gabriella's past, he experiences the true meaning of being grateful. Troyella. You heard correctly. TROY. EL. LA. Oneshot.


**I really needed to do this.**

**I really did.**

**Y' know, to prove something to myself.**

**To broaden my ever-shrinking horizons.**

**To prove something to myself.**

**I think I already said that.**

**To stretch and twist my writing abilities.**

**Troyella.**

**En-joy.**

_When he was seeing her_

..."No... it was my fault." Gabriella muttered more to herself than the person she had run into. Frantically, she pulled books off the the brown carpeting of the library, skimming over titles. _Moonfleet, The Awakening, Pride and Prejudice, The Giver... _"Hey, I love this book." Gabriella smiled to herself and examined the familiar cover of Lois Lowry's masterpiece. "Especially the part near the ending where..."

"...they finally find Elsewhere?" a warm hand covered hers as it gracefully took the book from her. Finally, Gabriella was able to look up to the victim of her clumsiness only to find a familiar face, a familiar smile, a pair of familiar eyes... "Hey, Gabriella."

Gabriella's eyes widened at the sight. She was instantly struck with memories of her recent past. "Oh. My gosh." The number of novels in her arms subconsciously became heavier, her vision blurred at his blinding white smile and intelligent disposition. As much as it hurt her, Gabriella found herself falling in love all over again.

"Found it!" Troy emerged from the Sport's section, holding a limp book, the size of a dictionary over his head in victory. "Every _Sports Illustrated_ known to man... convienienty bound together into one..." Troy's chiseled face fell in confusion just a little seeing the bright look in his girlfriend's eyes as she gazed in awe to the boy standing next to her.

_You could see he had his doubts_

A handful of freckles dusted his features, green eyes standing out promiently against his darkened skin. Troy played the fact out in his head that this guy _must _live in a tanning booth to have a layout like that. Keeping that superficial thought to himself was the only thing that kept him humble, kept him from instantly getting jealous and defensive of the way Gabriella and this boy were conversing.

Kept him from knocking his lights out for touching his girlfriend's forearms in such a tender way.

"Rob? I can't believe it's you!"

"It's been way too long..."

Gabriella's voice seemed so foreign, so forced, nothing like the way that she spoke with Troy. At that moment, she seemed so relaxed and comfortable. She sounded free and careless. What struck Troy the hardest were the soothing words coming out of his mouth. His tone, his volume, they were all features that were drawing Gabriella in, completely forgetting that Troy was even there, witnessing it all from only a few feet away.

"Rob, this is my boyfriend, Troy..." Gabriella shifted her affection from her old friend and back to Troy, pulling Troy closer to their circle of conversation. "Troy, this is my... this is my_ Rob._" Gabriella's hesitance spilled her story completely. Was it so difficult for her to say that Rob was her _ex-boyfriend? _Troy watched as Rob's green eyes went dull at Gabriella's use of the word 'boyfriend'. Could he possibly be missing her?

_And now he's missing her _

_because he knows he's missing out_

Their immediate 'catching up on old times' seemed to leak into his mind, but never register. All Troy could focus on was the way Gabriella's fingers were possesively laced in his. But suddenly, things fell silent between the two of them, dragging Troy back to the conversation that was happening in front of him. Then, the words came. Those words that should never come out of the mouth of the ex. Especially in front of the current boyfriend! Those words that were _so _fragile, _so _private, the next best thing to saying, _I love you._

"I miss you, Gabriella."

_And now it's haunting him _

_with memories like a ghost_

Any trace of jealousy Troy had for this guy suddenly disappeared. All of a sudden, Troy just felt _sorry _for him. He had obviously been heart-broken when Gabriella broke up with him, but showing how much he cared _now_, was just a waste of time.

"I... I... uhmmm..." Gabriella scrambled for words, nervously running a hand through her dark brown ringlets. She finally settled on a, "It was really nice to see you again, call me," kind of statement before politely excusing herself and her boyfriend, charging down the Troubled Romance aisle of the library.

How symbolic.

_And he's so terrified_

_cause no one else even comes close_

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He's the guy that you should feel sorry for

_This wasn't any normal kind of break up._

_He wasn't cheating, there wasn't a lack of spark... all of the typical reasons to break up weren't present. No, Rob shattered Gabriella's heart for a reason so strange, so unusual._

_"I'm sorry Gabriella. Really I am."_

_His apology was barely heard as Gabriella attempted to absorb his entire statement. It was so blunt. So point blank. "I want to break up with you." She expected at any moment to be woken up from a dream turned into a nightmare, but as she continued to subconsciously pinch herself, she found that this was indeed reality._

_"I want to break up, I want to break up, I want to break up, I want to break up..."_

_Gabriella quickly brought a hand to her temple in hopes of clearing her vision. The one Rob standing before her multiplied into four as her distorted vision became worse. "W-What?" she stuttered so painfully, that it was even difficult for Rob to listen._

_"You're just... I don't know, Gabriella. You're _perfect._"_

He had the world but he thought that he wanted more

_"It's almost like you're _too _perfect, like some sort of a..."_

_"I understand, Rob." She silenced him, an unfamiliar tremor coming to her voice. She didn't understand. Not at all, but the more Rob critisized her, the smaller her world seemed to become. The harder she thought about their break up, the tighter the pain in her chest became, and the faster her heart thumped._

I owe it all to the mistake he made back then

Troy's head softly shook in confusion, thinking back to how hurt Rob looked when he had been introduced. "He really broke up with you? I mean... you didn't break up with _him?_"

How could...?

But how...?

Troy couldn't grasp the concept of anyone ever breaking up with Gabriella Montez. She _was _perfect, but it was her perfections that made Troy love her all the same. Only an idiot would give up a girl like her.

Gabriella bit her lip, a worried look spreading across her face. "It's okay, Troy. That was a long time ago." But what Gabriella didn't understand was that it was _more _than okay with Troy. It was absolutely amazing, knowing that _she _chose _him_, over any guy in the world

He didn't deserve her.

_I owe it all to my girl's ex-boyfriend_

"At least I have you now." He whispered to her so intimately, so secretly behind their curtain of novels.

So then along comes me- this undeserving mess  
Who would believe my life would be so blessed

_"You know, Troy, I just came out of a nasty break up and I..."_

_"Don't worry. I'm in no rush." Conversation seemed so much easier in the darkness. Somehow, the blanket of stars being their only witnesses in the park gave Troy the courage to pull Gabriella under his arm, to be able to hold her. "That guy must have been really stupid."_

_He watched her intently, the starlight suspended in her chestnut eyes. "He wasn't." she whispered. She closed her eyes, basking in the illuminescent glow. "He was wonderful."_

_Troy decided to leave it at that, pulling her tighter against his warm torso, soundly pressing a kiss to her forehead. She looked to him, desperation and eagerness playing in her eyes at the same time. "But you know... I think it's about time that I move on."_

Two years ago when you left all that debris

_And it was then that the space between them gracefully closed into more than just a first kiss, but a new beginning, a fresh start. Like the first flower in bloom after the harsh winter, this particular kiss symbolized the rebuilding of their empire, the construction after destruction._

Who would have known it would leave everything I need

Troy watched Gabriella intently again, her brown eyes scanning over the tiny text of yet another book, millions of thoughts, possibilities, and outcomes reeling through his conscience. If it hadn't been for Rob's selfishness, Troy would still be as empty as he was the two years prior to meeting Gabriella

_If it wasn't for him I would still be searching_

If it hadn't been for Rob's ability to rock Gabriella to the core, Troy wouldn't have been able to call Gabriella his best friend and his girlfriend.

_If it wasn't for him I wouldn't know my best friend_

And what struck Troy the hardest was the fact that if Rob had opened his eyes, he would have truly seen what he had given up.

Happiness.

_If it wasn't for him he would be able to see  
That if it wasn't for him, he'd be as happy as me_

"Keep me to my word, Gabriella." Troy tucked his finger under his girlfriend's chin, drawing her face to him. "Never, ever, _ever _let me make that kind of mistake. Promise me you won't let me break your heart."

_When she and I settle down you can bet_

"Troy, those are the kind of words that every girl wants to hear." Gabriella smiled warmly, taking his hand in hers. "Of course I promise." And almost instantly, a huge weight left both of their shoulders, knowing that they had each other's trust, knowing that neither of them would be left empty and confused.

_That he is gonna have to settle for less_

Troy winced, thinking of Rob's huge mistake once again.

Troy got the girl.

And Rob was only left with the bitter memories of the past.

_He's someone I would hate to be_

"Are you ready to leave?" Gabriella asked sweetly, stuffing the book in her arms back onto the shelf. Troy nodded, the thoughts inside of his head scrambling with each movement.

He really was ready to leave, ready to move on, knowing that a girl as amazing as Gabriella Montez wasn't going to slip out of his fingertips anytime soon.

_I got the girl and he's left with just the memory.  
_

**There.**

**You know, Troyella isn't that bad at all. Prejudiced people need to get over themselves.**


End file.
